It is my first time travelling to Spain and I am doing a solo trip. I need advice on a few things such as the best hostels to stay in all the above mentioned places that are located closer to the attractions and also good for things such as food, drinks and meeting like-minded people.

I would also need advice on how to go about this trip such as the best places that I should not miss out on when visiting the same or if I should take a day trip out to visit nearby cities or villages.

I was also thinking that instead of purely covering the north, I could maybe do a good mix of north and south both. I was thinking of covering places such as San Sebastian, Barcelona, Valencia (Tomatina), Madrid, Andalusia.

It would be great if you guys could help me plan how to go about the same, where to start, what to do, where to stay.

It is my first time and it will be amazing if you guys can help me make it a memorable one.

León, Burgos, Segovia, Salamanca and Cuenca would be worth a stop if you have the time. You can do this if you are driving from places to place.
Madrid (This is my city and I can tell you is lovely. However, in August many places are shut so check this before you go. Could be quite hot too so going to nice museums such as Reina Sofía, Prado or Tyseen as well as a drink at night would be your best option). Hostel: http://www.colorshost.com/

North-East:

Barcelona (Food: Fideua and Pa amb tomàquet)

Valencia (I wouldn’t go to Tomatina unless you love get covered by tomato and heavily drunk in the heat, a tip – bring googles with you, tomato can be quite sore for your eyes. Food: Paella)

Balearic Islands (probably best in this time of the year Menorca; Ibiza and Mallorca can be quite busy)

South:

Sevilla (beautiful and probably too hot)

Cádiz (Caños de Meca, Puerto de Santa María), Food: seafood

Granada (very cheap, they’ll give you food when order a drink, for free!!)

TIPS for August: Around 15th August is the famous San Roque (bank holiday in some areas) where traditional festivities will happen. For example in Calatayud (Zaragoza) among many other places. Check Hotel La Dolores: http://www.mesonladolores.com/
Better to stay in towns near the coast. In cities such as Madrid or Seville could be quite hot. It’s a must a hotel with air-conditioning. If you like mountaineering and stunning landscapes check the Pyrenees (Sallent de Gállego, Panticosa).

Any particular area you would like to know more about just let me know. For hotels and restaurant check our guides in which we have more detail info.

Thank you for the amazing reply. It all sounds very interesting and I do not understand how to stick to only a few places.

I will be landing in Madrid on the 11th of August and heading straight to Las Palmas to see my girlfriend who lives there. I will be there for five nights, which means that I am free from the 16th until the 29th to go anywhere in Spain.

What I am most confused about is where I should start, as you said Madrid would be too hot and I would like to end in Barcelona as my return is from there on the 29th of August. My initial plan was to cover the north as mentioned in my earlier post but I would really like to cover the south too. Could you perhaps devise a two week trip for me, consisting of the places you think would be best suited covering both north and south, while also stating how many days should be spent in each.

I know it is asking for a lot but you really seem to know Spain very well and I would love to get your perspective on a good 14 day trip explaining Where to Begin, where to go next and the means of travel. Please also note that I will mostly be commuting through public transport such as Trains and Buses so those routes would be preferable.

From Madrid you have speed train called AVE that goes to Santiago, Valencia, Barcelona, Sevilla and Cordoba. Also plenty of buses. I’d suggest to first go North and then South, from Valencia you have a train that goes along the coast to Barcelona.
For more information to train and bus connections go here:

If you are looking for somewhere to stay in Barcelona you should check out apartment rentals in. Barceloneta as this is a very central area from where it is easy to walk to most places in town and it is also right on the beach. If you dont fancy or cannot run to an apartment, there is a hostel right on the beach called Seapoint, i think it is run by Equity Hostels. It has pretty much the same view as the new super expensive W Hotel! But book early as the city will be absolutely HEAVING with visitors in August and very, very hot.